Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Anyone who questions the value of FIRST I am going to just show them this picture, flip a table, then walk away. We send stuffs to space!

I absolutely tribute both my passion for the space program, and fortune to be a part of it because of my involvement with FIRST.

Without FIRST, I would have never developed an interest in science and technology in high school. In college wouldn't have had the opportunity to work as an educator at the Kennedy Space Center if I didn't meet 233 mentor Gabe Salas. Post college graduation I wouldn't have obtained a career at Lockheed Martin if it weren't for the Lockheed Martin mentors on 1902, Ryan Leitch and Sarah Plemmons, whom I spent many hours with volunteering.

In the interview for this recent position I asked the panel of interviewers "Do any of you know about FIRST?" and I received the response "Why yes, my son is on a team!"

And here is the kicker... I'm not even an engineering major. FIRST mission is to inspire all students who go through the program, even the ones not destined to be engineers. Without this inspiration, who knows where I would have been this week, but certainly not on the 10th floor of a launch pad.

I owe a ton to my original teachers and mentors, to the corporate sponsors who made investments in the future, to the Florida Regional Planning Committee, and the hundreds of volunteers who made my life possible. I'm already registered in VIMS to support 11 FIRST events in the 2014-2015 season, so I too can help others realize how bright their futures can be.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Team 701 is also very excited! One of our team members, Jared Ellenberger, works at Lockheed and is an engineer that worked on the capsule ejection system for Orion. He is also a Head Referee at the Colorado Regional.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

As a 32 year employee of UTAS Space Systems, I too, have hardware on that vehicle. I get just as excited for every launch as I did watching the Mercury and Gemini launches as a kid. LIGHT THAT CANDLE!!!!

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Launch scrubbed. 24 hr recycle. Try again tomorrow 0705 EST.

Right off the NASA Orion blog:

The launch team has tentatively set a liftoff time of 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2-hour, 39 minute window just as today. We will begin our launch coverage at 6 a.m. tomorrow on NASA TV and on the Orion blog. Tune into the blog and NASA.gov for continuing updates throughout the day.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Thanks! So from a very elementary stand point, could you explain why there is a time window so small? It's not rendezvous-ing with any thing or interacting with any spatial bodies, so I would think it could just launch whenever. Why is this not the case?

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Launch and recovery during daylight, for one. Tracking space junk that might be in the way, for another. And I'm sure someone else way smarter than me can chime in here with some orbital mechanics reasons.

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

Re: pic: Orion is Go for Launch

One of our mechanical mentors is an inspector for ULA. The Delta IV rockets used in the mission don't leave the factory floor without his approval.

He sent me the following info to distribute. I hope you find it helpful.

This week, a Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch the Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) mission for NASA, the first flight of the Orion Spacecraft. The launch is targeted for 7:05 a.m. EST this Thursday, December 4th, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Delta IV Heavy rocket was built at the United Launch Alliance Decatur, Alabama factory. With over 800 employees from North Alabama, Southern Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, there are hundreds of students with a direct connection to this flight through parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or other relatives and friends.

Please take the opportunity to help all of your students learn about this historic flight of the Orion capsule, which will travel to an altitude of 3,600 miles, more than 15 times farther than the International Space Station’s orbit! NASA is testing Orion’s performance in deep space and its return through Earth’s atmosphere.

The ULA website is a good starting point for information about the launch – www.ulalaunch.com